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How To Become An Airbnb Plus Host With Little Effort

Nick Winikoff| Posted on 2018-03-06 | ~4 min read

Airbnb recently announced it’s Airbnb Plus service. It was heralded as one of the biggest changes the company has made in their 10-year history. So what is it?

Airbnb Plus is a service that provides “All the comforts of home, plus more.” The service is designed to normalize vacation rental standards to better compete with hotels. What that means is by being accepted to Airbnb Plus, your home is considered to have all the standard features expected in a hotel-like vacation rental.

Airbnb Plus is currently only available in Austin, Barcelona, Cape Town, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Melbourne, Milan, Rome, San Francisco, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto. There are already talks of it expanding to other locations as well, so you’ll just have to keep up to date to find out what cities they are moving into.

How To Become An Airbnb Plus Host

To even be allowed to apply to become an Airbnb Plus hosts you must have previously been an Airbnb host that has met certain standards. You are also required to pay a $149 application fee.

The requirements for becoming an Airbnb Plus host are averaging a review rating of 4.8 out of 5, accepting at least 95% of bookings that have been made on your property, and lastly having no cancellations in the past year.

Becoming a highly rated host can have its challenges, but it can also be very rewarding. This will be the most difficult part of getting your home the Plus designation. For more information about becoming a highly rated host check out how to impress a guest on a first impression, it highlights steps I used to become an Airbnb Superhost which essentially is the same standards that Airbnb is using to become an Airbnb Plus host.

Once you’ve submitted your application for Airbnb Plus status, every home is visited in person for a 100+ point quality inspection to ensure standardized comfort.

Professional photos will be taken of your home and once accepted the PLUS badge will be prominently displayed below your photograph on Airbnb’s search.

Requirements For Airbnb Plus Homes

Airbnb lists requirements for homes before they are approved. The basic requirements for becoming an Airbnb Plus host are having a thoughtful design showing your unique style and personality, keep your home well-maintained and clutter-free, have a comfy mattress, high-quality bedding, and plush towels, and lastly be well-equipped with amenities like wifi and coffee.

Airbnb claims to hold its Airbnb Plus Hosts to a 100 point checklist of standards, these points are evaluated when a representative inspects your home for certification.

I have not been able to find exactly what is on this 100 point checklist but they have released a 35 point requirement list. This list is broken down into 4 subcategories, thoughtfully designed, comfortable, well-equipped, well-maintained. Each of these categories is further broken down here.

Why Did Airbnb Start The Plus Service

Airbnb designed the plus service to better compete with hotels, simple as that. The problem Airbnb is having is that there is no definite guarantee to what you are getting from a home even with the review system in place, while the hotel industry can guarantee a certain quality standard across all of its properties. Don’t get me wrong, many people including myself love the fact that every Airbnb is unique in its own way, but for others that can be worrisome.

So, Plus is the response to those worries. You can now book a property that is guaranteed to meet a certain standard of living that was not previously found on Airbnb’s platform.

Basically, Airbnb can now tap into a larger segment of travelers who were not willing to even try using its product before.

How Will This Impact Travelers And Hosts

Airbnb Plus will impact hosts much more substantially then it will travelers. The only thing that will change for a traveler is that you will most likely start booking Airbnb Plus homes more often simply because they are listed at the top of the search. Being listed at the top of the search is very important for occupancy rates.

As for the Airbnb hosts, expect a lot to change. If you choose not to apply for Plus Home status expect your occupancy rate to fall, once the service moves to your city. That is because your listing will be moved below the Airbnb Plus listings, this is because travelers will be less likely to see your property and more likely to book a property they see at the top of the search.

Don’t worry too much, the rollout of Plus services will take some time. The service is currently only offered in 13 cities around the world. If you live in a smaller city expect it to take a good amount of time before the service comes to your area. If you live in a larger city you can expect the service to come to you sooner rather than later.

If you choose to become an Airbnb Plus Host here’s what to expect. Once you get past the required quality, your property will receive Plus logo that will be featured prominently on your property. Becoming a Plus Host will catapult your listing to the top of the search page, that will mean a higher rate of occupancy for your home.

There is a problem though, Airbnb claims that Plus Hosts currently can charge double the average nightly cost on Airbnb. While that might be true for now, don’t expect it to last. Once the market is flooded with Airbnb Plus Hosts the prices will fall just like they did when Airbnb’s current offering flooded basically every metropolitan around the world.

For some more opinions on becoming a highly rated Airbnb Host check out these links below.